Tom Watson leads the British Open. If he can hold on tomorrow, he will become the oldest winner of a major championship.

In the Tour de France, George Hincapie, a former teammate of Lance Armstrong, who tipped Armstrong off regarding a move by Hincapie's new team in Stage 3, got scr*wed by Armstrong and his team today (Astana set the pace in the peloton for no discernible reason), keeping Hincapie from the glory of the yellow jersey. Hincapie was quite angry about it. (AP, which apparently does not have access to Versus, where Frankie Andreu interviewed a visibly angry Hincapie, who called out Astana by name), falsely reported that Hincapie had no reaction. The Tour will be decided this week in the Alps. My money remains on Contador.

This is an Open Thread.

Can Tom Watson win the British Open? Watch this morning's 3rd round to see if he can stay in contention. He is currently tied for the lead.

The Tour de France heads to the Alps to end the Tour (before the traditional last stage that ends down the Champs Elysees.)

This is an Open Thread.

We've covered politics all day. Time for something different. Country music singer Wes Hayden, who as I've frequently written, is mad as h*ll about the way he was edited on the Bachelorette, is coming out swinging.

Hayden was portrayed as a ruthless player who wasn't on the show to find love, but instead had a secret girlfriend and a larger motive to promote his singing career. Now Hayden says he's on a mission to clear his name. He is denying that he had a girlfriend while taping the show, and he says he's a victim of creative editing. "I signed a contract with them, so I knew they could portray my character any way they saw fit," Hayden said. "But they have totally slandered me and taken my words and put them out of context. They cut, they paste, they left vital sentences out."

Sounds like Wes has lawyered up and a battle may be brewing. I'll bet it's good for both Wes and the show. [More...]

I'm sure there's lots of news today besides what we've covered. If you're online tonight, and feel like discussing something else, here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

For those of you watching TV, Big Brother 11 has an interesting development. Seems the house contains several bigoted residents who have made racial, misogynistic and homophobic comments. There's been a pretty big outcry on the entertainment boards and blogs about it. [More...]

RIP:

Walter Cronkite, who pioneered and then mastered the role of television news anchorman with such plain-spoken grace that he was called the most trusted man in America, died Friday, his family said. He was 92.

Update (TL): Here's his famous clip announcing the assassination of JFK:

The ACLU has now weighed in on the Senate's passage of the Hate Crimes Law. In a nutshell, the ACLU says the House version is okay but the Senate version is not.

the Senate version of the hate crimes bill lacks the strong protections for speech and association included in legislation passed by the House of Representatives in June. The American Civil Liberties Union believes that without the speech and association protections included in the House bill, the Senate hate crimes legislation could have a chilling effect on constitutionally protected speech and membership.

[More...]

The New York jury deliberating the case of DeWight Lee, charged with killing of Lateisha Green (legal name Moses Cannon), a transgender person, rejected the prosecution's argument for Second Degree Murder (with or without the hate crime attached) and returned a guilty verdict of First Degree Manslaughter (with the hate crime enhancement.)

The manslaughter finding was a determination that DeLee was only intending to seriously injure -- not kill -- someone when he fired one shot from a .22-caliber rifle into the car in which the victim was sitting with two others.

The difference:

The murder charge accuses DeLee of intentionally killing Cannon. First-degree manslaughter would require a finding he only acted intentionally to cause serious physical injury but caused the victim's death instead. Second-degree manslaughter would mean the jury found DeLee acted recklessly by consciously disregarding the risk posed by his conduct [More...]

U.S. Senator Mel Martinez (R-FL) today issued the following statement regarding his intent to support the confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court.

"Given her judicial record, and her testimony this week, it is my determination that Judge Sotomayor is well-qualified to serve as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court. "Judge Sotomayor is knowledgeable of the law, would be a fair and impartial judge, and seems to have a good understanding of the limited role the judiciary plays in our democracy.

"Judge Sotomayor's rise to the Supreme Court is testimony to the fact that the American dream continues to be attainable. As an Hispanic American, I take great pride in Judge Sotomayor's historic achievement. Given her qualifications and testimony this week, I intend to vote in favor of her confirmation."

When I get copy of Senator Olympia Snowe's statement announcing her support for Sotomayor, I will post it here.

Tiger may miss the cut at the British Open. Tom Watson is one shot off the lead. The Tour de France had another uneventful stage.

Watson drains a 60 footer on 18 to tie for the lead. What a great story. Tiger finishes +5. Needs a miracle to make the cut.

If there was ever any doubt that Stuart Taylor, Jr. is an Extreme Right conservative legal pundit, watch this. What struck him was Sen. Leahy "warning" that the GOP better treat Sotomayor right (I missed that myself. Not sure what Taylor was referring to.) He thought the GOP was quite nice to her. I rest my case.

This is an Open Thread.

U.S. Sen. Dick Lugar released the following statement on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to be Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court:

“I have listened to the testimony of Judge Sonia Sotomayor before the Senate Judiciary Committee, carefully reviewed her public service record, and reviewed recommendations from Indiana constituents and colleagues here in the Senate. Judge Sotomayor is clearly qualified to serve on the Supreme Court and she has demonstrated a judicial temperament during her week-long nomination hearing. Judge Sotomayor has had a distinguished career of public service. She is well regarded in the legal community and by her peers. I will vote to confirm Judge Sonia Sotomayor’s nomination to serve as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.”

Photo by @dregar. More twitter pics of scene here.

Update: The bodies of two suicide bombers have been located in the debris. Indonesia authorities are blaming Muslim extremists and say that the perpetrators rented rooms in the hotel.

A police spokesman Friday said the suspects in the Marriott bombing were staying in the hotel disguised as guests, though he didn't give a number of people suspected to be involved. Police detonated what they described as a homemade explosive found in room 1808. The spokesman described the hotels' security measures as adequate.

The suicide bombers used explosive they were keeping in a room at the Marriott, Mr. Danuri said. The first bomb was detonated at the Marriott at 7:47 a.m. local time at the lounge in the lobby, near a meeting of foreign business people. That explosion killed five. The second bomb was detonated at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel 10 minutes later, on a second floor restaurant, killing two. One person later died in a hospital.

[More...]

Unfortunately, the Democrats in the Senate got their way Thursday night as a sweeping hate crime bill was passed. In April, it passed the House. The Senate Bill is S. 909.

The hate crimes bill was offered as an amendment to a must-pass defense spending bill that the Senate is expected to finish some time next week. Several Republican amendments to the hate crimes legislation still could be considered on Monday, but Thursday's vote determined that it will be part of the defense bill when it passes.

Laws that increase penalties for "hate crimes" are unnecessary and ill-conceived. I've argued against them since 2000. Rather than quote myself again, I'll quote TChris: [More...]